


And his eyes look at nobody

by reveetoile



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Minor Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 01:04:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11886660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reveetoile/pseuds/reveetoile
Summary: Nino is fascinated by Aiba and wants nothing more than to know more about him and why he feels so sad and hides behind a mask.





	And his eyes look at nobody

**Author's Note:**

> prompt used: 14: Sadness

Nino observed as Aiba stood behind the counter with a bright smile on his lips and greeted each customer warmly. Nino hadn’t realised the first few times he had come here but now it was easy to see and hard to ignore. Aiba’s eyes were full of emptiness and they never looked at anyone. Nino shuddered a bit when he remembered the first time he had realised that Aiba looked happy and content with his life but was anything but that.   
  
  
_Nino watched the beautiful man behind the counter. Today his hair fell slightly into his eyes and he seemed to have died it in a slight brownish tone. It looked great on him and Nino licked his lips without realising. His eyes fell to the full lips that were curled into a happy smile._  
  
“Good morning!” the man said with a warm voice that sent a shiver through Nino’s back. His voice was just the right amount husky to be sexy but not overly so and Nino had a hard time not to imagine what it might sound doing other things than greeting people. Nino watched the girl in front of him blushing when the man smiled at her and knew he wasn’t the only one who thought the other man to be quite sexy.   
  
He glanced at the name tag that was properly tucked on his vest today and Nino was happy to finally know this man’s name. The name tags were something new in this coffee shop and Nino thanked silently the person that was responsible for this. Aiba-san told the person right next to him the order of the girl and went to prepare the sandwich she ordered for breakfast as well. Aiba’s hands were fast at working and in only a short time he had finished the order. Nino thought that he was good at his work and he just couldn’t look away. Aiba seemed so friendly to everybody. That was the first thing Nino had realised when he had stepped into this shop a few weeks ago. Aiba-san was friendly to the customers and his colleagues and he looked so happy. Nino wished he could keep some of this happiness for him.   
  
For Nino, it was hard to hold on happiness as he mostly felt the sadness and negative emotions of the people around him whenever he came to close to them. A touch - regardless of how fleetingly - and he would be bombarded with so many negative feelings that he sometimes had a hard time to keep breathing or standing. That was why he began to try to not touch anybody around him anymore. Sometimes, though, he couldn’t help himself when he saw a really sad person. He wanted to take that burden away if even just for a moment. And Nino knew that he could make that person a little bit happier with just a touch. So he did. He touched the person - he had learnt to do it without them realising - and left with the bad feelings of them shortly afterwards.   
  
So one day Nino couldn’t help it. He felt sad and down from the overstuffed train he had to take today and there had been no way to keep to himself. So instead of carefully avoiding Aiba’s fingertips when he gave him the cup of black coffee he had ordered he let himself touch Aiba’s hand.   
  
The moment their skins met, Nino lost his breath and had to take a staggering step back as to keep his balance when a deep sadness overcame him. He stumbled into the next person behind him and only thanks to his hands was he able to keep standing. Aiba’s eyes widened - confused and worried - and he ran around the counter to steer him with the help of a few other people to a chair and pushed him down on it before making sure he had something to drink and eat - in the house this time - before after another worrying look at him left to do his work again. Nino looked at him shocked as Aiba again continued to smile, joke and laugh with the others as if he was one of the happiest people that existed.   
  
  
From that day on Nino developed a kind of obsession for the other man. He tried to get closer to him and even if Aiba looked at him as if he was crazy the first few times he tried to talk to him, slowly after days trying, he opened up a bit to him.   
  
They still only talked about work and mostly about the new dishes the shop Aiba worked at invented - it seemed that the owners, Matsumoto-san and Ohno-san, loved to try out new things and Nino was always curious to try them out. Especially after he managed to befriend Ohno and got the treats for free if he told them his opinion on them.  
  
So he knew a bit more about Aiba now. His smiled a lot and was friendly - just as Nino had thought the first time he saw him - and his colleagues were full of praise of how good he was at his work. Nino thought that Aiba tried his best with it because he was able to forget his pain then. He still didn’t look anyone into his eyes and when their eyes accidentally met (which happened more often than Nino wanted to admit because he looked at Aiba a lot) he would advert his gaze almost immediately. But these short instances were enough for Nino to realise that his heart wasn’t into any of his smiles.   
  
He didn’t seem to trust anything and never told anything too personal to anybody. Nino had discovered that neither Matsumoto nor Ohno or even him knew much about Aiba’s past even if Nino had shared a few things that happened during his time in junior high already with Aiba. Aiba seemed generally really closed off.  
  
  
One day Nino was late for work - like really late. Nino had overslept and then missed his train and then the next he had to take after that and he honestly thought about just calling in and tell them he couldn’t make it while he hurried through the station only to stop in his tracks when he saw Aiba. Before he realised what he was doing he had already slept his phone to his ear and as soon as the call connected said: “I’m sorry, I can’t make it today. I will do it tomorrow.”   
  
Nino was happy that he had the chance to change his working hours easily even if his partner would likely chew his ear off for calling so late.   
  
He automatically followed Aiba through the station, contemplating if he should call out to him when Aiba stopped in front of another man. The other man was rather old - Nino wasn’t sure that it wasn’t his father, to be honest. And they embraced fleetingly.   
  
Nino carefully went closer to them until he could hear them talking. He felt kind of like a stalker or something like that but he just couldn’t forget that deep sadness and wanted to change it, if possible.   
  
“Masaki-kun,” the man said and Aiba bowed a little. His eyes were glazed over and that was the first time that Nino saw any emotion on Aiba’s face.   
  
“Nobu-san,” he nodded and Nino flinched when the other put his arm around Aiba and pulled him close. Aiba just smiled and then went with him willingly. Nino continued to follow him, without understanding what was happening.   
  
“I’m glad we could meet today, Masaki-kun. You are the only one that understands me. My wife is horrible at the moment,” the man mumbled and Aiba hummed in understanding. They walked around and Nino learnt that apparently Aiba had once worked at a host club but quit because of something - someone? Nino didn’t know and he left before he could be discovered. It seemed that Aiba sometimes met with old customers and it was strange to see the other man clinging to these guys while his eyes pleaded to be left alone. Nino didn’t understand.   
  
  
Just as every day Aiba awoke half an hour before his alarm would ring. He stayed in bed like always waiting for the first sounds of “Morning light” coming to life to wake him up and then waited a bit longer until it automatically ended after around a minute.   
  
Then he finally forced himself to stand up and take a shower. Before he entered his bath, he made a detour to his kitchen to prepare some coffee to drink after he had finished getting ready. After taking the shower, carefully choosing his clothes for the day and then styling his hair he left his home without wasting another second of thinking about his coffee.   
  
The coffee went cold like every morning things he left because nobody was there anymore to set the table and he lost his appetite when he sat there alone. He would eat before the morning rush at the coffee shop like every day and told himself that the coffee there was better anyway.   
  
It was slightly bitter just as he liked it.  **He**  had liked it better with a bit of sugar and cream in it, Aiba remembered and forced himself to smile brightly as he left his house and greeted the neighbour he met just outside.   
  
He went to work like every day and greeted everybody with a bright smile. His eyes were searching for  **him**  even if he knew that he would never see him again. His heart hurt whenever he thought about it and he had to take a deep breath to be able to smile. But Aiba had long ago decided that he had cried enough because of what happened in the past.   
  
Of course, he felt the eyes of him. Ever since that day that Nino had touched him, he knew exactly where Nino was and what was on his mind. Of course, not in a way that he could read his thoughts but he felt that Nino thought of him and that he was worried. It somehow touched his heart just as Nino’s first touch had. Since that day, though, Nino hadn’t touched him again. Aiba kind of wishes he would and hoped that he wouldn’t at the same time. It was a very confusing feeling and he didn’t know how he should react.   
  
  
Aiba’s feet led him to the church in the middle of their town. He looked up to its tower and watched the clock there moving slowly. A sigh escaped his lips. Nino had been following him around earlier but then he had left and he was worried about what Nino might think about him now.   
  
Probably hatred, Aiba decided after a short time and closed his eyes as he remembered him again.  
  
  
_“Let’s get married!” Sho had said and Aiba had looked at him incredulously._  
  
“What?” he asked and Sho grinned at him in that way only Sho was able to do. It made his insides all warm and his heart beat faster. He closed his eyes to keep this feeling close to his heart for at least a short time. It was nice to feel loved.   
  
“Let’s get married. In this church, okay?” Sho repeated and Aiba smiled at those words.   
  
“Yes, please,” he whispered and smiled happily. Perhaps he finally found love, he thought and decided to trust Sho.   
  
  
“You what?” Sho asked the third time and Aiba flinched. Perhaps he shouldn’t have told him.   
  
“I worked at a host club but I stopped now,” he repeated and sighed. “I wanted to be honest with you. And… if this is as serious as I think it is, I couldn’t continue working there,” Aiba explained again and flinched when he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. Sho’s eyes were murderous and disgusted and Aiba felt his heart break at those feelings directed at him. It hurt so much.   
  
“You should have told me from the beginning. You lied to me,” Sho spat and Aiba flinched. No, he didn’t. He just didn’t tell him right from the beginning. That was a difference was it not?  
  
But before he could retort or beg Sho to listen to him the older man had turned around and left his apartment in a hurry. It was hours later that Aiba got the call from Sho’s sister that Sho ran into a car in his fury and didn’t survive the impact. Aiba’s world had turned into darkness that night and he had decided to never trust anyone again. Love it seemed wasn’t meant for him.  
  
  
A shudder ran over his back as he remembered that incident. It was what always came into his mind when he stood in front of this church. Every time he tried to enter it, pray for Sho’s forgiveness and peace for him but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t enter it regardless how much he wished it.   
  
He remembered Nino’s curious gaze on him and sighed. Perhaps he might be able to enter it again someday. Maybe he wouldn’t be alone then.   
  
Aiba took a deep breath. Perhaps he should try to trust again, at least a bit. He turned around and looked right into Nino’s eyes. Somehow this time he hadn’t felt the other boy close to him, but Nino had returned and didn’t hesitate when he took Aiba’s outstretched hand. Aiba felt peaceful as he caught Nino’s suddenly weak body.


End file.
